Donald Trump vs Hillary Clinton: Who is the better Social Media Marketer?

Prior to the 2008 election, social media had been most effective for advertisers in the commercial & service sectors. Rarely had we seen public figures step into the limelight via social media (SM), nor had we seen one effectively use SM to invigorate a campaign with a progressive, liberally minded social media presence. President Obama’s election victory was fueled by a brilliant combination of focused targeting, cutting edge polling strategies, and an extraordinarily savvy SM campaign.

After Hillary Clinton’s departure from the presidential race in 2008, President Obama’s primary Facebook page tallied over 1,000,000 active users following his campaign. Additionally, he created 10+ additional campaign pages to garner support from specific groups such as millennials, veterans, and African Americans.

In his 2012 re-election strategy, President Obama again turned to his strategists to devise a crafty social media campaign. This time, they chose to focus their efforts on a predominantly Twitter heavy campaign strategy. Entering the election in 2012, President Obama’s twitter account netted 16,505,044 followers, following 677,188 accounts, and 4,239 tweets. Though President Obama narrowly edged Mitt Romney in the Popular Vote (51%/48%), he absolutely shattered Mitt Romney in collecting the Electoral Vote at 302/206 – only needing 270 electoral votes to win. Indeed, President Obama would go on to secure the states with the largest share of electoral votes, and even key swing states previously thought to belong to Mitt Romney.

Since 2008, we have seen the use of SM in campaign strategies absolutely EXPLODE. In this article, we’ll be taking a look at the four candidates who are likely to be the last contenders leading up to Party Nominations. On the democratic side, we will explore the SM profiles of Bernie Sanders & Hillary Clinton. Representing the Republican Party are Donald Trump & Ted Cruz.

Without further ado….

Democratic Candidates

Hillary Clinton

Facebook

Facebook Likes: 2,916,527

Subscribers: 6,646

Profile Completeness/Quality composite Score (1-10): 10

Twitter

Handle: @HillaryClinton

Followers: 5.72 million

Following: 641

Tweets: 4,772

Likes: 1,023

Profile Completeness/Quality Composite Score: 10

Instagram

Followers: 963,000

Following: 69

Posts: 408

Comments:

Hillary Clinton’s team does an excellent job of managing her SM presence. Her pages are consistent in terms of branding, content, & image quality.

Bernie Sanders

Facebook

Facebook Likes: 3,449,926

Subscribers: 46,983

Profile Completeness/Quality composite Score (1-10): 6

Twitter

Handle: @BernieSanders

Followers: 1.74 million

Following: 1,471

Tweets: 7,438

Likes: 848

Profile Completeness/Quality Composite Score: 10

Instagram

Followers: 1,000,000

Following: 93

Posts: 249

Comments: Bernie Sanders beat Hillary on a couple of metrics such as Facebook Likes, subscribers, and his overall number of tweets. However, Bernie’s Facebook profile leaves much to the wayside in terms of profile completeness. A click into his “about me” section reveals very little. In comparison, Hillary Clinton’s “about me” could very well be her biography. One the most important aspects of a successful SM campaign is adding a relatable human element to your page. While Bernie’s pages certainly aren’t bad, Hillary Clinton’s team is doing a better job of elevating her SM pages and relating to her supporters.

Winner: Hillary Clinton

Republican Candidates

Donald Trump

Facebook

Facebook Likes: 6,509,758

Subscribers: 35,787

Profile Completeness/Quality composite Score (1-10): 2

Twitter

Handle: @realDonaldTrump

Followers: 6.99 million

Following: 42

Tweets: 31.3K

Likes: 77

Profile Completeness/Quality Composite Score: 7

Instagram

Followers: 1,200,000

Following: 11

Posts: 604

Comments: Donald Trump has a tremendous follower/following ratio. On Facebook he easily outlasts his competition in terms of engagement & likes. He also has a substantial number of subscribers. However, for all his gusto, his “about me” is totally empty & poorly completed. Moving to Twitter, his prospects are much stronger. In comparing his Followers/Following ratio we can clearly see the difference 6.8Million followers/48 following. Additionally, he has an astonishing 31.2K tweets. The Donald loses points for his blurry cover photo and unnecessary amount of over tweeting.

Ted Cruz

Facebook

Facebook Likes: 2,060,990

Subscribers: 5,823

Profile Completeness/Quality composite Score (1-10): 8

Twitter

Handle: @TedCruz

Followers: 943,000

Following: 13.8k

Tweets: 15.1K

Likes: 943

Profile Completeness/Quality Composite Score: 7

Instagram

Followers: 46,800

Following: 89

Posts: 247

Comments:

Ted Cruz does a better job of crafting a complete and well- rounded Social media profiles. However, he lags in most categories and doesn’t have nearly as strong of a command as Donald Trump in terms of maximizing his SM Profiles and generating growth & engagement.

About Daniel Bilenker

Dan Bilenker is an Account Executive at Social Vantage. He uses his lead funnel optimization and data visualization skills to drive strong results for his clients. After graduating from Temple University, Dan began his marketing career in the hospitality industry, working in sales and guest services for major hotel operators before joining the Social Vantage team. He is an avid guitar player and enjoys playing blues, rock & roll, & funk.